Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Grows Position in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Stryker Co. (NYSE:SYK) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,228 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC’s holdings in Stryker were worth $1,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Stryker during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stryker by 618.2% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 79 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stryker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Stryker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Stryker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 77.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Stryker

In other news, Director Ronda E. Stryker sold 201,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.24, for a total transaction of $78,993,998.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,642,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,567,498. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Allan C. Golston sold 2,458 shares of Stryker stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $383.07, for a total transaction of $941,586.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,705,827.65. This trade represents a 14.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYK has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Stryker from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BTIG Research set a $403.00 price objective on shares of Stryker and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Stryker in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Stryker from $420.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Stryker in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $423.53.

Stryker Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYK opened at $365.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Stryker Co. has a 1-year low of $314.93 and a 1-year high of $406.19. The company has a market capitalization of $139.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.08, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $367.81 and a 200-day moving average of $373.16.

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The medical technology company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. Stryker had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 23.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Stryker Co. will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stryker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Stryker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.30%.

Stryker Company Profile

Stryker Corporation operates as a medical technology company. The company operates through two segments, MedSurg and Neurotechnology, and Orthopaedics and Spine. The Orthopaedics and Spine segment provides implants for use in total joint replacements, such as hip, knee and shoulder, and trauma and extremities surgeries.